Vacuum oil burner



Oct. 16, 1928. .w. E. JOHNSTON VACUUM OIL-BURNER Filed July 2, 1925 In VENTOI7. Wnraumv Eda/ms mu.

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Patented Oct. 16, 1928.

UNITED STATES WAYBURN E. JOHNSTON, or MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESO'IVA.

VACUUM OIL BURNER.

Application filed m 2,

This invention relates to an oil burner of the vacuum feed type. Such burners are now widely used and burn difierent kinds of oil, such as distillate and the heavier fuel oils. Vacuum feed oil burners which include oil burning torches are desirable as the necessity of having the oil under pressure is eliminated. air is used to atomize the oil and a vacuum is produced in the burner in communication with the oil feed conduit so that the oil is drawn into the burnercwing to this vacuum. It is necessary'to control the feed of theo'il to secure the desired size and character of flame and heretofore this adjustment has been accomplished by a valve or its equivalent which regulated the size of the oil conduit and thus'directly controlled the amount of oil fed. The oils commonly used in these burners contain substances which will collect in av small opening through which the oil passes and thus clog the opening. This clogging matter is, in part, formed by lumps or thick globules in the oil but is also due to free carbon which has been formed'when the hydro-carbons have been cracked or disassociated'in the preparation of the oil in the formation of other hydro-carbons. These carbon particles, of course, are exceedingly small but in time they will accumulate in a small opening, such as has been used in the oil regulating valve. The'se'clogging substances collect around the oil feed Valve and it is necessary to open and close the valve several times in order to clear the'same. This interrupts, temporarily, theproper op eration of the burner and necessitatesa new adjustment thereof and the operation must be repeated at intervals in orderto keep the oil'feed'ing properly. Furthermore, as soon as the accumulation starts the oil feedfidecreases until it again becomesnecessaryto clear the-valve so that a, uniform feeding and. burning of oil has been heretofore difv ficult of attainment.

It is an object 'of this invention, therefore, to provide an oil burning device in which the oil feed is caused by avacuum, togetherwith means forregulating the degree of vacuum to control the feed of oil. I

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a burner having a discharge nozzle, an oil feeding conduit, and a com-.

pressed air conduit for causing a vacuum in the burner: mthe rear of the discharge open the nozzle, together with meander degree of vacuumproduced.

In such a burner, compressed 1923. Serial No. 648,948

admitting air into the burner to regulate the conduit, a compressed air conduit and an oil It is another object of the invention to pro- 'vide a vacuum feed burner having a discharge feeding passage which communicates with the discharge conduit, together with ,means for admitting air in regulated amounts to the oil feeding passage at a point in advance ofthe point where said passage communicates with the discharge conduit so that said air which is admitted is mixed with the oil before the same comes into contact with the compressed air.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a regulating means for the air which is admitted to the burner to regulate the vacuum comprising a valve operated by a threaded stem which is equipped with a left hand thread so that when the valve is turnedto the left the degree of vacuum will be increased and the amount of oil fed increased and vice versa.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set-forth in the following description made in connection,

withthe accompanying drawings inwhich like reference characters referato the same parts throughout the different views, and in which 1 7 Fig. 1 is a bottom plan view of one type of vacuum feed burner; p I

Fig.2 is a vertical section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, as indicated by the arrows; and Fig. 3 is aview of the burner in vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.'

7 Referring to the drawings, the burner is shown having an attaching flange 1. by which the burner is secured to a furnace wall by bolts passing through the holes 2.

A flange 3 extends from one side of the flange 1 and the body of, the burner is secured to said flange'by the bolts 4. The burner coinprises a discharge nozzle or conduit 5' which 7 is alined centrally with the openingfi extending through the base flange 1. A compressed air passage 7 is formed in the body of the burner in axial alinement with the passage in the discharge nozzle 5 to which passage compressed air is supplied through the opening 8 extending through the" boss 9, which opening is tapped and adapted to receive a connection to a supply of compressed air; The compressed air assa e7 is of smaller diameter in theporti'on cw ichleads intothe passage through the discharge aeszle and is controlled by a valve carried by a threaded valve stem 10 carrying a hand wheel 11. An oil teed passage 12 is provided in the burner extending through the downwardly directed inlet nozzle 13 which is externally threaded to receive the connection communicating with the supply 01 oil. The passage 12 passes upwardly into the burner and then horizontally at right angl s and then has a short portion again turning at right angles and communicating with the discharge passage in nozzle 5. Cleanout openings 14: are formed in the body of the burner in alinement with the vertical portions of passage 12 and these openings are normally closed by screw plugs 15. The plug 16 also closes the end of the horizontal portion of the passage 12 and may be removed to cleanout said portion, it desired. As previously stated, it has been the practice in previous burners to have a valve regulating the size of the oil passage 12, but in the present invention, this valve is omitted and a passage 17 is termed communicating with one of the chambers 14L and with an opening 18 which communicates with the atmosphere. The passage 17 is adapted to be closed or open more or less by a needle valve 19 carried by and controlled by a threaded stem 20 extend- ,ing through a lateral projection of said burner and equipped with an operating han dle 21. The stem 20 is provided with a left hand thread for a purpose to be later described.

In operation, as states, the openings 8 and 12 are in con'in'iunication with the compressed air and the oil supply respectively. Gompressed air being directed through the passsage 7 into the dischar 'e conduit 5, the same expands it leaves the smaller portion of passage 7 and fills the discharge opening of the conduit 5. A vacuum is thus created in the rearot the discharge opening and the oilis forced up from the oil supply through the passage 12 and is delivered into the conduit 5. The oil here meets the stream of compressed air and is atomized and mixed -with the air and projected outwardly with great force into the furnace and forms with the induced outside air, the combustible m1xture. The degree of vacuum produced can be accurately and finely adjusted by operation of the valve 19. The amount of oil fed will be in proportion to the degree of vacuum maintained so that a very accurate means for controlling the teed of oil is thus provided. At the same tlme, the Oll passage is kept tree and unobstructed and has no portion of small transverse dimension or area through which the oil must pass sothat any clogging oi the burner due to matter in the oil is entirely eliminated. The burner can be ad usted to give the desired teed and flame and will contlIlUQjtO- operate in a constant and uniform manner. Inv the experiments with this inportion to control the vention it was first attempted-to deliver the air which controls the vacuum directly into the discharge conduit 5. It was found, however, that when this was done, the air was all at one side of said conduit. The air therefore is now admitted to the oil stream before the same reaches the discharge conduit or comes into contact with the compressed air stream. The air admitted to control'the vacuum is thus mixed with the oil and uniformly distributed in the discharge passage and also acts to produce a better atomization and better mixture of the oil and air. With the previous type of valves where the supply of oil was directly controlled by a valvedisposed in the oil conduit, the valve of vacuum controlling air is increased, the

vacuum decreased and the flow of oil decreased. The controlling valve 20, therefore, is turned into customary directions to increase or decrease the feed of oiland the workmen will not become confused in operat'ing the valve. i

From the above description it is seen that applicant has provided an exceedingly simple and ingenious form of burner. As stated, the oil feed is finely and accurately regulated without placing a valve in the'eil passage and thus affording opportunity for and causing clogging of the burner. The burner is quite simple in construction, the air admitting valve merely replacing the old oil regulating valve and-being of simpler construc-. tion. The burner has been amply demonstrated in actual practice and found to be highly'eflicient and successful in operation.

It will, of course, be understood, that various changes may be made in the form, details and arrangement of the parts without departing from the scope ofapplicants invention, which, generally stated, consists in the matter shown and describedand set forth in the appended claims. v I

What is claimed is;

1. In a vacuum feed oil burner, a valve body comprising a nozzle having a discharge passage and an oil conduit, means for direcing airat high velo'citythrough said nozzle to produce a vacuum in a portion of said body in the rear of said discharge passage and in communication with said oil conduit, means for adjusting said first mentioned means, and an adjustable means for admitting air to said degree of-"vacuum pro duced.

2. A vacuum feed oil burner for burning heavy OllS having in combination, a casing having a discharge passage for the discharge of mixed oil and air, an unrestricted oil passage leading to said discharge passage and adapted to be connected to an oil supply, means for producing a vacuum in a portion of said casing, and means for variably admitting air to said portion to regulate the degree of vacuum produced and the amount of oil fed whereby it is unnecessary to regulate the size of the oil passage.

3. A vacuum feed oil burner comprising a discharge conduit, a compressed air conduit leading thereto, oil conduit leading to said discharge conduit including a chamber, a conduit leading from the atmosphere into said chamber and a manually adjustable valve for controlling the size of said opening through said last mentioned conduit, said valve being operable by a threaded stem having a left hand thread thereon, whereby the vacuum will be increased and the feed of oil increased by turning said valve to the left and Vice versa. 7

4:. A vacuum feed oil burner comprising a body having an unrestrictedoil feed conduit and having a discharge passage, and a passage for compressed air leading to said discharge passage, said passages including a chamber in Which said compressed air forms a vacuum in communication With said oil feed conduit, manually adjustable means for said air conduit, and manually adjustable means for admitting airto said chamber for regulating the degree of vacuum.

5. An oil burner having in combination, means for feeding oil by producing a vacuum in said burner, and means for admitting air for regulating the degree of vacuum produced to regulate the feed of oil.

6. A vacuum feed oil burner comprising an oil feed conduit and having a discharge passage and a compressed air passage, said passages comprisinga portion in which a vacuum is formed by the expansion of said compressed air to cause oil to flow through said oil feed conduit, and adjustable means for admitting air into said-portion to regulate the degree of vacuum produced and resultantly the amount of oil passing through said oil feed conduit.

1 7 A vacuum feed oil burner having in combination, anoilfeed conduit, a regulatable means for supplying compressed air to form a vacuum to induce the feed of oil through said oil conduit, and means for admitting air to said burner to regulate the degree of vacuum produced and the amount of oil fed whereby an unrestricted oil passage may be used. c

8. A vacuum feed oil burner having in combination, an unrestricted oil feed conduit, a regulatable passage, for supplying a-gaseous medium underpressure, said oil feed'conduit communicating with said passage and said gaseous'medium under pressure acting to produce a vacuum to lift the oil, and manually regulatable means for admitting air intosaid portion to regulate the degree of vacuum produced and the amount of oil fed.

9. A vacuum oil feed burner having in combination, a member comprising a discharge passage through which air and finely divided oil are forcibly discharged, means for supplying compressed air to said member, an oil feed passage, said member having a portion therein in which a vacuum is formedby said compressed air to lift the oil and cause it to flow through said passage, a passage leading from said portion to the atmosphere, and a regulating valve adapted to admit avsmall adjustable amount of air to said portion to regulate the degree of vacuum in said portion and the amount of oil fed, whereby no valve is necessary in the oil feed passage.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WAYBURN E. JOHNSTON. 

